Bringing people together to support a vital environment and thriving community
(collected by Conservation Corps North Bay)
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019
Time: 10am-4pm
Location: Fairfax Pavilion Parking Lot, 142 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, CA
Household medications are the number one cause of childhood poisonings. They also pollute our waterways (please do not flush them down the toilet!). The Fairfax Police will be collecting the drugs until 2pm. Please no liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.
This is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Take Back program. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Conservation Corps North Bay will collect electronics for recycling including computers, microwaves, iPods, printers, cell phones, TVs, remotes, etc.
Marin Sanitary Service will shred up to two bankers boxes of your sensitive documents. Please no plastic, folders, or binders. Staples/paperclips OK!
FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS. Bring it Home! Marin Sanitary Service gives back compost to Fairfax residents several times per year as specified in the Town of Fairfax Resource Recovery Agreement. The compost is made from the food and yard waste collected from our GREEN curbside carts. This compost is shared with all Fairfax residents, so please do not take more than FIVE 5-gallon buckets (which provides a one inch cover for a 40 square foot garden). Use of Compost: Compost is a soil amendment that improves the water-holding capacity and structure of your soil, but too much of it can harm your plants! It is recommended that you use no more than 1-2 inches on your annuals & perennials. For more information on soil amendments, see this link.
Household medications are the number one cause of childhood poisonings. They also pollute our waterways (please do not flush them down the toilet!). The Fairfax Police will be collecting the drugs until 2pm. Please no liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches.
This is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency National Drug Take Back program. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Conservation Corps North Bay will collect electronics for recycling including computers, microwaves, iPods, printers, cell phones, TVs, remotes, etc.
Marin Sanitary Service will shred up to two bankers boxes of your sensitive documents. Please no plastic, folders, or binders. Staples/paperclips OK!
FREE COMPOST FOR FAIRFAX RESIDENTS. Bring it Home! Marin Sanitary Service gives back compost to Fairfax residents several times per year as specified in the Town of Fairfax Resource Recovery Agreement. The compost is made from the food and yard waste collected from our GREEN curbside carts. This compost is shared with all Fairfax residents, so please do not take more than FIVE 5-gallon buckets (which provides a one inch cover for a 40 square foot garden). Use of Compost: Compost is a soil amendment that improves the water-holding capacity and structure of your soil, but too much of it can harm your plants! It is recommended that you use no more than 1-2 inches on your annuals & perennials. For more information on soil amendments, see this link.
This Saturday there is a great opportunity to dispose of hazardous waste and get sensitive papers shredded in one convenient location.
This coming Saturday, April 27, Fairfax Residents have a unique opportunity to dispose of a variety of hazardous waste materials and sensitive papers. Come and recycle expired or unwanted medications and supplements, dispose of old electronics, and shred your documents, all at one convenient location—the Fairfax Pavilion Parking Lot. Electronic waste disposal and paper shredding occurs between 10am and 4pm; disposal of medications between 10 am and 2 pm. Don’t miss this great opportunity. For more details go to the Sustainable Fairfax website or Facebook page.
There are many reasons to dispose of medications and e-waste properly. These products contain harmful chemicals which contaminate our soil and water if not disposed of properly. Household medications are the number one cause of childhood poisonings. They also end up in the fish (see image) we eat. E-waste contains heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury which are known to create serious health and environmental problems.
Here is a simple example of how easy it is to contaminate water. A few years ago I worked in a newly opened coffee shop in Petaluma. Tommy, a young co-worker who also volunteered as a docent with the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance (PWA), told me that the amount of caffeine in the Petaluma River had increased in the year after the shop opened. While I was surprised to hear this, it made sense. Tommy told me that his information came from the late David Yearsley, founder of The Friends of the Petaluma River and charter member of PWA. (During winter, treated wastewater is introduced back into the Petaluma River). Tommy also said that testing for chemicals like caffeine and estrogen in wastewater is a really new thing so there is no established way of removing them effectively yet. Perhaps a solution can be found.
If pouring old coffee down the drain adds caffeine to river water, just imagine how flushing prescription medicine down the toilet impacts our water supply. It has been reported that this can increase bacterial resistance to antibiotics, and disturb the reproductive capabilities of aquatic life. Or imagine what the water that leaches out from landfills does to local watersheds. As I find out more about how our current lifestyle affects our environment and, ultimately, us and our children, I feel mad, scared, and sad all at once. I want to say: Remember that we share this earth, our home, with a wondrous diversity of beings. Pay attention. Learn how to be better housekeepers.
To take action this week, gather your meds, e-waste, and documents, then show up on Saturday to dispose of them in a safer way. Learn more about how your everyday actions impact our environment. Enjoy the beauty around you, in your children, your pets, the trees that cool you on a hot day, whatever it is. Notice and breathe it in. Listen! Celebrate Earth Day, every day!
If you have some extra time this coming Saturday, we can use your help. Follow this link to find out more and sign up for a shift.
